Three Scottish charities have been appointed the Official Charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup after signing agreements with Ryder Cup Europe alongside Shona Robison, Minister for Sport and Commonwealth Games.

By signing letters of agreement with Ryder Cup Europe, the three charities - Friends of St Margaret's Hospital, Auchterarder; Perth & Kinross Disability Sport and Quarriers - have each been granted Official Charity status and awarded a highly valuable fundraising inventory.

The selection process for the Scottish Official Charities involved the collective contributions of the host venue The Gleneagles Hotel, Perth & Kinross Council and The Scottish Government, overseen by Ryder Cup Europe, ensuring that the benefits of hosting The 2014 Ryder Cup are felt right across Scotland.

The three Official Charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup are collectively benefitting from an inventory of VIP Hospitality and General Admission Ticketing to the matches at Gleneagles with a combined face value of around £300,000. This inventory is granted free of charge and will be used to raise funds between now and the event itself, with the generated donations or funds raised expected to greatly exceed their face value.

Edward Kitson, Match Director for The 2014 Ryder Cup, said: “Charity is a very important component of any Ryder Cup. The three fantastic organisations represent the local, regional and national interests of Scotland and with an exclusive association with The 2014 Ryder Cup, we hope each charity will be able to promote their work to a global audience and with the inventory provided raise much needed funds in the process.”

Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison, commented: “One of the numerous advantages of hosting The 2014 Ryder Cup is the benefit to charitable causes and the people they help across the country, so I am delighted that these three great organisations have been named as official charities. The charities work locally and nationally and illustrate how Scotland as a whole will benefit from hosting one of the world’s greatest sporting events in September 2014.”

Councillor Ian Miller, Leader of Perth & Kinross Council, said: “I’m delighted that two such deserving local charities have been chosen as the official partners of the 2014 Ryder Cup. Perth and Kinross Disability Sport was nominated by the Sports Council as a very active local group that makes a real difference to people’s lives, both in supporting people with disabilities to achieve their sporting ambitions and in raising awareness amongst others. I look forward to seeing them build on the excitement of Perth and Kinross hosting the Ryder Cup to encourage even more people to try their hand at sports.”

Patrick Elsmie, Gleneagles’ Managing Director, said: “Having one of the world’s largest sporting events come to Auchterarder is clearly a huge opportunity, and one which will be of enormous benefit to the wider Perthshire area. The St Margaret’s Health Centre and Hospital - which has served the community, our guests, our employees and their families for many years - was an obvious choice for an official local charity. I am delighted that their vital work will be recognised and supported through this nomination.”

Chairman of Friends of St Margaret’s Hospital, Dr James A Grant MBE, added: “The Friends of St Margaret’s are delighted to be nominated as the local charity of the Ryder Cup. We are really pleased to be even a small part of this world famous event and look forward to working with the organisers to ensure that all the charities involved receive maximum benefit.”

Lynn Melville, Chairperson of Perth & Kinross Disability Sport, said: “Perth and Kinross Disability Sport are absolutely delighted to be given this generous opportunity from Ryder Cup Europe. We are a very small charity run by a handful of volunteers, all with a passion to make a difference through sport and physical activity to people in Perth and Kinross with a disability.

“Although our charity has been running for a number of years our official charity status with the 2014 Ryder Cup will allow us to develop into new areas and support more people to take part in sport. We are very much looking forward to working with Ryder Cup Europe and the other charities chosen to represent the tournament at Gleneagles next year.”

Quarriers chief executive Paul Moore said: “The work we do with children, families and adults is built on a belief in every individual’s ability to succeed – and Quarriers is delighted that as a result of being an official charity partner of the 2014 Ryder Cup we will be able to help even more people succeed in life.

“Quarriers aims to ensure our partnership for this great sporting event has a lasting legacy on Scotland through the work we do with young people, helping to inspire them to take control of their lives and create a positive future for themselves.”

Team Europe’s Captain Paul McGinley will complete the group of Official Charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup when he announces his chosen cause later this year. The Official Charities will benefit equally from any on-site fundraising staged by Ryder Cup Europe during Match Week in September 2014.

Scott Crockett (Media Communications Director for The European Tour) and Richard Hills (Ryder Cup Director) announce that Darren Clarke will be captain of the European Team at The 2016 Ryder Cup at Wentworth

(L-R) José María Olazábal, David Howell, Paul McGinley, George O'Grady (Chief Executive of The European Tour) and Colin Montgomerie sit down as the five-man Ryder Cup panel to discuss The 2016 Ryder Cup Europe Captaincy

Europe's victorious team

Henrik Stenson and Thomas Bjorn

Paul McGinley

AUCHTERARDER, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Paul McGinley, the victorious European Ryder Cup team captain, poses for a photograph at The Gleneagles Hotel on September 29, 2014 in Auchterarder, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty I